


Suranaland

by GingerBreton, magpiesandmabari



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Friends With Benefits, Multi-Warden AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 15:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17685803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GingerBreton/pseuds/GingerBreton, https://archiveofourown.org/users/magpiesandmabari/pseuds/magpiesandmabari
Summary: A collaborative effort between myself and my wonderful friend; decided our babies (her Cousland, my Surana) would be a good fit for each other and BOY were we right. A (eventual) collection of one-shots written at various stages of their relationship!





	Suranaland

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a Tumblr prompt: 'You haven't laughed in a long time, and I guess I was staring because I'd forgotten what it looked like.'
> 
> The playboy of Highever has caught Feelings, it seems.

It had been a remarkably relaxed evening in camp. Perhaps it was simply the lure of a decent meal; a wild boar Aedan had spotted and insisted they hunt after a fortnight of enduring the same bland offering of stew and stale, gritty bread. **  
**

Whatever the reason, it’d lifted the mood considerably and Alistair took particular delight in recounting the moment the beast took offence at Aedan’s missed shot at its’ head and charged at him, leading him to scramble up onto the nearest branch while it menaced him from the foot of the tree; the young lord bellowing at him to stop bloody (in reality, his words had been far, far coarser) laughing and finish the damn thing off.

But he found he didn’t mind being the butt of the joke, not when it finally drew a cackle out of Yana, who’d been understandably pensive at the prospect of returning to Denerim and what might lay in wait for her in the Alienage after so many years away. He hoped it’d make the ghost of their old grievances a little less prominent in her mind, too.

Eventually the conversation drifted as did the group, settling into their usual pockets and he took the opportunity to get a moment alone with her.

“You think I don’t notice, don’t you?” She said quietly when he sidled over to where she was sat, a little way apart from the rest.  
  
“Notice what?”  
  
“The way you stare at me.”  
  
He shrugged, shuffling closer. “Do you mind?”  
  
She didn’t turn to look at him, but he saw her mouth pulling at the corners slightly while she fought the urge to smile.  
  
“Maybe.”  
  
_Ahh. So that’s the game tonight, is it, Surana?_

He rested his chin on her shoulder, tilting his head coyly in much the same way The Bann did when seeking a fuss.  
  
“You like everything else I do.  _This_  is what bothers you?”  
  
This time, dark eyes flicked over to glance at him, lips curled and he felt the flutter in his chest that’d been growing all the more insistent lately.  
  
Just a bit of fun, he’d thought. That’s all it was; blowing off steam in the face of impending doom. But every time he had to sneak out of her tent carrying his boots, it got harder to leave. He wasn’t entirely sure what it was he wanted, if there even  _was_  a future for the presumed heir to a Teyrnir and an elven mage, but it had to be better than hiding in plain sight. As if it was something to be ashamed of.

Maker, he hoped she didn’t think that was the case.  
  
But all the same, not wanting to ruin the fractured friendship they’d managed to repair over last few months held him back and so here he was; trapped in an odd sort of limbo where he could fuck her to sleep but not hold her hand in front of their friends for fear of raising more questions than they had answers.  
  
“You’re doing it again.” She murmured softly, meeting his gaze properly now. He suddenly felt a little shy, her face hard to read. He liked that about her though; he could never quite tell what she was thinking and it kept him enthralled trying to figure it out.

He nudged her affectionately with his forehead, an arm snaking around her waist discreetly and he smiled inwardly when she rested her hand on his, fingers threaded together just out of view. Though a cursory glance across camp told him he didn’t need to be worried, the others far too engrossed in their own conversation to notice them now.

Still, the relative privacy was a relief.

“You haven’t laughed in a long time,” He finally answered. “And I guess I was staring because I’d forgotten what it looked like.”

Again, he couldn’t quite place what it was he saw behind her eyes; a slight furrow in her brow. Then it softened and he was surprised to find her leaning in. Far more tender than their usual nightly visits, her hand lingering on his cheek.

“You give me a reason to.” She said, smiling against his mouth. Aedan gave a slight snort of derision, though grinned back at her all the same.

“Does that mean I’m going to have to get into more disagreements with our dinner just so I can get a rise out of you, then?” He paused thoughtfully. “Because I’m perfectly willing to do that, I’m just asking for the sake of posterity.”

He got his answer when she dissolved into a fit of hysterics, face buried in the crook of his neck. He wasn’t sure what relieved him more, listening to her laughing again or that (hopefully) he wouldn’t have to fight another angry pig just to hear it.

It would be worth it, though.  _She_  was worth it, even if it did mean enduring Alistair and Izzy’s mocking for the next few days…


End file.
